This invention relates to novel purified forms of glycoprotein found in the cell surface membrane of cells infected with human T-cell leukemia virus, type III (HTLV-III), and to an assay for detecting in biological specimen the presence of an antibody to the antigenic determinants present in said glycoproteins.
HTLV-III is suspected of playing a key role in the pathogenesis of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It has been shown that human patients whose bodies contain antibodies to HTLV-III-infected cells are apparently latently or actively infected with the virus.